Hooray for the Late Comers

Whenever you have been out of school for a while you worry about being one of the oldest in the classroom.  I graduated college about seven years ago and haven't taken a class since.  So naturally when I went to orientation this week that was really what had me nervous.  To my surprise there was a good mix of ages there and quite a few that were significantly older than me. 
Unfortunately, society seems to have this picture of what success is really like.  You have to be a doctor or a lawyer or a Naval Officer (ha ha ha) to be "successful in life."  It really is a shame though that people many people suppress their desires to fit in this mold that society cuts out for us. Yet, as I saw this week some people eventually do get tired and decide enough is enough.  They leave their secure "successful" lives to pursue their happiness. 
The culinary student they picked to talk to us was a lady in her late forties.  She lives in student housing and is very active around campus.  This surprised me, just when I thought I was maybe to old to be in any of the student clubs.  She is getting her culinary management degree and graduates soon.  Not only that, but she is talking to a clothing designer about starting a line of chef uniforms.  I could only think "wow!"
So in that crowd of students I wasn't the only one, and once again I remembered why I am going back to school in the first place.  Unlike the first time I went to college my goal isn't to have the best grades or get a really great paying job.  It is to get the skills I need to continue making people happy.
When I was in the service I was stationed over seas.  I saw first hand what a powerful effect a great meal could have on someone's day.  Literally "sometimes food is the only morale they have," was something that often came out of people's mouths.  In those days I began bringing cakes to work.  It took me a few tries to figure out the oven and get a few recipes down, but the effort was worth it.  I showed up with a simply decorated cake baked from scratch and they were as excited as little kids.  Eventually, it came to a point where they would ask me what kind of cake I was bringing next week.  And when I showed up they wouldn't last thirty minutes.  It made me really happy to see them smile and have a little piece of something "homey" while we were away.  I got more satisfaction out of that than many of the things I was doing for the military over seas.
At the end of the day I remembered why I was really happy to be there.  Finally I am doing something I want to do.  Something that will make people around me happier and therefore make the world my son will live in just a tiny bit better.